08/13/2007

I love planes so when Josh Hallett, Hyku, presented the opportunity to talk to the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) I jumped at the chance. CAP held its inaugural Public Affairs Officer Academy in Hot'lanta (very hot 'Lanta!)last week. I had the pleasure of speaking to a wonderful group of volunteers who are making a huge difference in our country and influencing the lives of thousands of kids. I met people who had been volunteering for over 20-years. They told me the most heart warming stories of how CAP has changed lives .. especially kids in the cadet program. CAP is meant for social media. Julie, Kim, Steve and Jim you were great!

Got to the Marriott Marquis in time to catch the speaker before me. Always a good thing to do - to have a reference point of where folks were before you come on. It was a session on traditional PR. After the slides on how to plan and media relations a slide on Blogs popped up. Oh oh .. over lap I thought. The speaker's concluding remarks on the topic ran something like .. Interesting idea but you don't want to put it on top of your list. Keep in the idea file if you have time. You have too many other more important things to do before you add blogs to the mix.

Girlfriend, I had to bring in another point of view. The Civil Air Patrol is meant for social media. Fascinating to me was after my talk a group of people came over to chat that included 20 somethings to 70 somethings. It was a 71-year old gentleman who was the most enthused about going home to Dallas to talk to his WING about blogging. I,of course, sent him to Millie Garfield's My Mom's Blog for a peek into senior blogs.

Sidebar: Millie's on network TV .. ABC News no less! Not bad for 81-year young gal from Swampscott, MA!

Okay, I admit to taking a sip or two from the koolaid so let's take a closer look and see if CAP is really meant for social media.

CAP's mission is connecting with and helping people. - The most powerful value of blogs is the functionality to develop relationships through conversations. CAP has the most amazing stories to tell. Each WING (CAP Chapter) could write its own book.

CAP's mandate is also to education. Podcasts, vlogs, blogs each offers unique (and fun) ways to provide information and peer-to-peer interaction. Using YouTube and iTunes as distribution channels can increase reach.

The WINGs don't have a lot of money. - Blog platforms, like Blogger and Wordpress are free.

One of CAP's challenges is to reach diverse audiences: prospective cadets, cadets, adult volunteers, media, corporate sponsors, parents, community supporters, businesses, pilots .. to name a few. - Multiple social media strategies are a way to provide content that addresses specific needs of members of their community. Podcasts, multi author blogs and online photo albums area a few more ideas.

As one might expect the cadets are all over social networks. There are amazing Flickr photos, YouTube videos, MySpace sites and Facebook groups. There's even a Facebook group for girl cadets. However, it's not all under twenty somethings who are using social media to reach out to other volunteers and people who share their passion. Adults are there too. - Hang out where your people are .. why not a WING Myface page and/or Facebook group?

Since there are CAP members involved in social networks and blogs listening in on those conversations - and then joining in - would be a terrific way to obtain informal feedback and first step research.

Yes, Divas sure seems to me that CAP is meant for social media.

Lessons Learned: Keep an open mind to new ways of doing business .. or new ways of doing life!

07/07/2006

Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's
virtual happy hour from cosmos to Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the
weekend 'playground' time to be sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just
plain silly.

It's been a busy week in the biz blogophere with few interesting and intense conversations going on. This Friday Fun is about taking a breath and chillin'. If your week was stressed spend a few minutes visiting the park where some edgy Jealous Animals hang out. I don't know where I found but I think the Toronto Zoo developed it . Make sure you visit the fish .. very cool.

NYC Blogger Meet-up Friday July 7th! If you're in Manhattan today and want to chill with a few diva bloggers - Teresa Caro, Peg Samuel of the Social Diva <Social Diva NYC Blog> fame and me at the Maritme Hotel - South Bar. The Maritime is located at 88 9th Ave b/t 16th & 17 Streets. South Bar is closer to 16th Street. Time: 5:30psih .. The Social Diva tells me that New Yorkers kick back early!

Shameless plug: Teresa Caro - Avenue A/Razorfish, Dave
Williams, 360i, and I will be teaching a class on eMail Marketing, SEO
and social media/blogs at the Fancy Food Show on Saturday afternoon July 8th. We get to eat all the samples we want. My diet starts again on Monday!

You get to start your week with a Full Moon in Capricorn and Mercury moving into Cancer. Are you stressed out at work? Have you bitten off more than you can chew? Too many responsibilities may be weighing you down. Perhaps it would help if you delegate some of your duties.

Take a look around and see if any of your employees are carrying more than their fair share. This would be a good time to have a meeting and order lunch for everyone. You’re likely to communicate your plans for your business effectively.

06/30/2006

n Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's
virtual happy hour from cosmos to Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the
weekend 'playground' time to be sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just
plain silly.

Today's Friday Fun is nibble of bittersweet chocolate. Paul Chaney of Radiant Marketing (until 11:59pm tonight) is closing the virtual doors to his blog and moving on to new adventures and opportunities. Paul holds a special spot in my heart he was my first .. my first in-person blogger friend. Gotcha! After an AiMA event we spent hours in an Atlanta biker's bar talking about blogs.

Blogging Systems recognized Paul's talent and made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Paul's new gig is VP of Marketing. Lucky for our emerging industry that Paul Chaney's new corporate home is in the social media space. Although Radiant Marketing will be no more, catch Paul blogging at Blogging Systems Blog, Realty Blogging, Blog For Good and look for a new blog Sweet Tea.

Around the same time that Paul began exploring opportunities with Blogging Systems he met his soul mate. Next month wedding bells will ring for Paul and Aime. Nice when good things happen to good people.

NYC Blogger Meet-up Friday July 7th! If you're in Manhattan next Friday night meet up with a few diva bloggers - Teresa Caro, Peg Samuel of the Social Diva <Social Diva NYC Blog> fame and me at the Maritme Hotel - South Bar. The Maritime is located at 88 9th Ave b/t 16th & 17 Streets. South Bar is closer to 16th Street. Time: 5:30psih .. The Social Diva tells me that New Yorkers kick back early! Drop a comment and let me know if you're coming!

Shameless plug: Teresa Caro - Avenue A/Razorfish, Dave Williams, 360i, and I will be teaching a class on eMail Marketing, SEO and social media/blogs at the Fancy Food Show on Saturday afternoon July 8th. The pay's not all that great but we were promised all the samples we could eat!

Many of you are taking off early to enjoy the big holiday weekend. Have fun! When you get back to business next week, Mercury will have gone Retrograde on 7/4. Miscommunication, travel snafus, computer problems are just a few of the annoyances during the Mercury Retrograde period.

Mercury will turn direct 7/28. If you have any major decisions to make or contracts to sign, it is best to wait till after 7/28. The best thing to do is to re think your plans. It is also an excellent time in sales to call and reconnect with clients. Hopefully Peachtree runners won't have trouble finding where they parked their cars at the beginning of the race!

Also when you get back to work on Wed, July 5th, you may have a hard time getting back in gear. Mars opposes Neptune. This is not the energy you want to have to go back to work with after a holiday. You may feel very sleepy. Your energy level may feel like you are dragging a 50 lb. bag around your ankles.

Also be careful of who you trust. Don’t take what others say at face value. Don’t believe every word they say.

For those who wondered, I made it to the airport for that 6:30p flight to Des Moines. Was even there before the shops opened. Airport vendors are missing a huge opportunity in not servicing passengers waiting for early flights.

Had a great time at AMA Iowa Chapter luncheon. Wonderful, friendly people. There were over 70 people at the event. Now...let's see who blogs first! Thanks to Arianne Steenblock, chapter prez (John Deere Credit) and Tamara Kenworthy, vp programs-elect (Essman Companies) for their midwestern hospitality. A special treat was meeting Megan, a student at Drake, who is blogging about the AMA for a class project. Thanks for the kind comments about the presentation. Sidebar: I figure if I didn't put Megan to sleep ... it must have been okay (or in IM terms - "k")!

SOCIAL MEDIA/BLOG CONSULTINGStrategies always customized to support your company's marketing and business goals. Never a cookie cutter approach.

Your expertise that you shared with us was very valuable and in same way "PRICELESS"

Thank you so much for introducing myself and M/A/R/C Research to the world of Blogging. As you know, I was very skeptical at first but I must admit we are enjoying being part of the Blogging community. Merrill Dubrow, CEO M/A/R/C Research

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTWorkshops are never popped out of a can. The Diva Approach to adult
learning is interactive, customized to meet the needs of your staff or
organization with a splash of style and a bit of fun.

She made blogs and blogging understandable.

Her presentation was fun, informative rich and I'd recommend Toby to anyone interested in getting the scoop on blogging. -Lorin R. Robinson, 3M

I knew when I heard you at the AMA conference in January that you would be a timely addition to the Compete Through Service program, and you certainly did not disappoint me or the attendees fortunate to come to one of your break outs! Thank you, Toby, for being an important part of the recent symposium’s success. Steve Brown, Executive Director and Professor of Marketing at W. P. Carey School of Business